Kodaneva Svetlana Igorevna – PhD in Law, Leading Researcher, INION RAS
As a result of the mass migration in the XX century, Great Britain has become the birthplace of an ethnically “super-diverse” society. It is home to immigrants from all parts of the world, including representatives of former British colonies and EU citizens who arrived in the country after 2004. This diverse and fragmented society requires a migration policy that will ensure integration and social harmony. However, the government's attempts to address the challenges have so far been unsuccessful. Over the past century, approaches to regulating migration have varied, ranging from attracting labor to creating a hostile environment for foreigners. The aim of this article was to examine the features of multicultural and multi-ethnic British society and how representatives of various peoples integrate into the host community. The results indicate that it is inaccurate to describe all immigrants as a unified phenomenon, as each diaspora has distinct characteristics that either facilitate or hinder their integration. For example, representatives from European countries and the “white” colonial countries adapted to Britain more easily, while representatives from Africa and the Caribbean have less social and economic integration, but exhibit high social and political involvement. Muslims from South Asian nations are the least integrated ethnic groups in Britain and form closed communities. Accordingly, the current approach to migration management has not been effective. This can be seen in the continued socio-economic inequalities, discrimination, and segregation within individual communities, as well as in the growing negative attitudes towards migrants within the host communities. This highlights the need for a more flexible and individualized policy that accounts for the unique characteristics of each diaspora.
multiculturalism, integration of foreigners, migration policy, ethnic minorities, diasporas, segregation.
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